Sailboat construction

ABSTRACT

A sailboat construction for an auxiliary-powered sailboat. The construction includes a hull having a bilge and provided at its intermediate portion with a fin keel. A hollow skeg depends from the rear portion of the hull, with the interior of the skeg serving as drain passage means leading to the bilge. A vertically extending rudder post is supported by the hull adjacent the skeg. A spade rudder is secured to the rudder post, the upper front portion of the rudder being formed with a vertically extending rudder surface abutting the rear edge of the skeg and the downwardly and forwardly extending rudder surface abutting the rear portion of the skegs lower edge. A drive shaft extends through the skeg to a supporting strut depending from the skeg.

United States Patent Primary Examiner- Trygve M. Blix.41mrney--Fulwider. Patton. Rieber. Lee & Utecht ABSTRACT: A sailboatconstruction for an auxiliary-powered sailboat. The constructionincludes a hull having a bilge and provided at its intermediate portionwith a fin keel. A hollow skeg depends from the rear portion of thehull, with the interior of the skeg serving as drain passage meansleading to the bilge. A vertically extending rudder post is supported bythe hull adjacent the skeg. A spade rudder is secured to the rudderpost, the upper front portion of the rudder being formed with avertically extending rudder surface abutting the rear edge of the skegand the downwardly and forwardly extending rudder surface abutting therear portion of the skegs lower edge. A drive shaft extends through theskeg to a supporting strut depending from the skeg.

SAILBOAT CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field ofthelnvention The present invention relates generally to the art ofsailboat construction and more particularly to a sailboat constructionwhich permits the use ofa spade rudder.

2. Description of Prior Art In recent years the use ofa spade rudder inconjunction with a keel spaced forwardly ofthe rudder has been widelyutilized. In such sailboat construction the hull is generally flatbetween the rear end of the keel and the front edge of the spade rudder.

With this construction there is a tendency of the helmsman toovercontrol. Also, the rudder tends to flutter at higher speeds.Additionally, it has been difficult to balance a boat using suchconstruction so as to eliminate weather helm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a major object of the present inventionto provide a sailboat construction utilizing a fin keel and a spaderudder which eliminates the disadvantages of this type of constructionwhile affording all of the advantages thereof.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a sailboatconstruction of the aforedescribed nature utilizing a skeg dependingfrom the lower portion of the hull wherein such skeg cooperates with thefin keel and the spade rudder to improve the handling characteristics ofthe sailboat while permitting an increase in speed thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a sail boatconstruction of the aforedescribed nature where the skeg is hollow andserves as a drain passage means leading to the bilge of the sailboat,with water being confined against sloshing in said skeg.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a sailboatconstruction of the aforedescribed nature wherein the skeg affords arigid support for a drive shaft strut so as to reduce the vibrationofthe propeller shaft.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the appended drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showingthe hull of a sailboat construction embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken rear elevation view of said sailboat con struction;and

FIG. 3 is a broken vertical sectional view taken in enlarged scale alongline 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to' the drawings,there is shown a sailboat construction utilizing a hull H. A fin keel 12of conventional construction depends from the intermediate portion ofthe hull. Preferably, the hull is of fiberglass construction. A skeg,generally designated 20, depends from the rear portion of the hull aftof the keel l2, and has a bilge l3 defined within its confines. The skeghas a generally vertically extending rear edge 22 and forwardly anddownwardly extending lower edge 24. The skeg 20 is hollow and ispreferably integral with the lower rearportion of the hull. Since theskeg 20 is hollow and its lower edge extends forwardly and downwardly,the interior of the skeg will serve as drain passage means leading tothe bilge l3.

A generally vertically extending rudder post is rotatably supportedwithin a tube 32 affixed to the hull H adjacent the rear edge 22 of theskeg 20. The lower portion of the rudder post 30 is rigidly affixed tothe upper portion of a spade rudder, generally designated 40. The upperfront portion of rudder is formed with a generally vertically extendingsurface 42 that abuts the rear edge 22 of the skeg 20, and with adownwardly and forwardly extending surface 44 that abuts the rearportion of the lower edge 24 of the skeg 20. Preferably, the verticallyextending surface ofthe rudder 40 approximates 20-30 percent of theheight of the rudder.

The hull H is provided with a conventional inboard engine 45 that iscoupled to a downwardly and rearwardly extending drive shaft 46. Theshaft 46 extends through a conventional stuffing box and tube unit 47mounted upon the lower wall 48 of the skeg 20. The lower portion of thedrive shaft is rotatably supported by means of a strut49 provided at itslower end with a bearing 50. The upper end of the strut 49 is rigidlyaffixed to and depends from the lower wall 48 of skeg 20. A propeller 52is keyed to the lower end of the drive shaft 46. It will be noted thatthe propeller 52 is disposed forwardly of the rudder 40 whereby duringforward movement of the hull H under power water from the propeller 52will flowover the rudder 40 so as to enhance steerability of thesaiIboaL'A fuel tank 51 is disposed within the lower portion ofthe hullH aft of the engine 45.

-As shown particularly in FIG. 3, water finding its way into the rearlower portion of the hull H will be permitted to flow into the bilge 13along the lower portion of the skeg 20. To this end the bulkhead 54immediately aft the fuel tank 51 is formed with a passage 56.Additionally, it should be noted that a pan 58 is disposed beneath theengine 45, with such pan being spaced upwardly from the lower wall 48 ofthe skeg 20. Water is removed from the bilge 13 by means of aconventional pump 60 having its intake connected to the bilge by meansofa conduit 62.

The sailboat construction of theaforedescribed nature affords importantadvantages over conventional sailboats utilizing a fin keel. Inparticular, the use of the skeg 20 affords improved handlingcharacteristics of the sailboat while under sail without reducing thespeed thereof and additionally provides important mechanical advantages.Thus, the skeg 20 affords better waterflow to the upper surface of therudder 40 than is the case where a skeg is not utilized. This improvedwaterflow reduces water eddies which tend to cause the spade rudder toflutter, such flutter being a characteristicof a spade rudder. The skeg20 also improves the tracking ability of the boat and eliminates thetendency of a helmsman to overcontrol, as is the case with a normalspade rudder. This feature results from the lateral water resistanceafforded by the skeg at the rear portion of the hull. The placementofthe lateral skeg area well aft in the hull H assists in balancing theboat and in eliminating weather helm. The added tracking afforded by theskeg permits the use of a shorter keel 12 and in this manner reduces thehulls wetted surface so as to afford higher speeds in light winds; Theuse of the skeg 20 reduces the quarter wave on the weather side of theboat since the water flowing from the hull is restrained from crossingfrom the leeward side to the weather side of the boat. The reduction ofthe quarter wave serves to increase the speed of the boat while undersail. The mounting of the strut 48 at the intermediate portion of theskeg provides a stiff support for the drive shaft 42. In this regard,the skeg 20 affords a more rigid platform for the strut 28 than would bethe case if the strut 48 were attached directly to the underside of thehull H, inasmuch as the hollow channel configuration of the strut 20defines a rigid structural member as compared to the generally flatlycurved underside of a normal hull. The hollow configuration of the skeg20 also defines a drain passage to the bilge 13 wherein the water isconfined against sloshing about the interior of the hull as is the casewith normal generally flat configured hull.

Various modifications and changes may be made with respect to theforegoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of thepresent invention.

Iclaim:

l. A sailboat construction comprising:

a hull;

a fin keel depending from the intermediate portion of said hull;

a bilge defined in said keel;

a skeg depending from the rear portion of said hull aft of said keel,said skeg having a vertically extending rear edge and a forwardly anddownwardly extending lower edge, with the interior of said skeg beinghollow to serve as drain passage means leading to said bilge;

a vertically extending rudder post supported by said hull adjacent theedge of said skeg;

a spade rudder secured to said rudder post, the upper front portion ofsaid rudder being formed with a vertically extending surfaceapproximating -30 percent of the height of said rudder that abuts therear edge of said skeg and with a downwardly and forwardly extendingsurface that abuts the rear portion ofthe lower edge of said skeg;

an engine disposed within said hull having a downwardly and rearwardlyextending drive shaft that protrudes through the bottom of theintermediate portion of said skeg;

a strut depending from said skeg forward of said rudder having its lowerportion rotatably supporting said drive shaft;

and a propeller on the rear end of said shaft forward of said rudder.

1. A sailboat construction comprising: a hull; a fin keel depending fromthe intermediate portion of said hull; a bilge defined in said keel; askeg depending from the rear portion of said hull aft of said keel, saidskeg having a vertically extending rear edge and a forwardly anddownwardly extending lower edge, with the interior of said skeg beinghollow to serve as drain passage means leading to said bilge; avertically extending rudder post supported by said hull adjacent theedge of said skeg; a spade rudder secured to said rudder post, the upperfront portion of said rudder being formed with a vertically extendingsurface approximating 20-30 percent of the height of said rudder thatabuts the rear edge of said skeg and with a downwardly and forwardlyextending surface that abuts the rear portion of the lower edge of saidskeg; an engine disposed within said hull having a downwardly andrearwardly extending drive shaft that protrudes through the bottom ofthe intermediate portion of said skeg; a strut depending from said skegforward of said rudder having its lower portion rotatably supportingsaid drive shaft; and a propeller on the rear end of said shaft forwardof said rudder.